Premier League analysis: Manchester City steal a match over rivals with Anfield win

Chennai, Februaru 8: Any hope that Liverpool had of retaining the Premier League title has gone up in the smoke after Manchester City crushed them 4-1 at the Anfield.

It was a night to forget for the Reds as two howlers from Alisson Becker gifted City as many goals and condemned the hosts to a position of no return.

The game started off slowly with Liverpool having the majority of the big chances until the 37th minute when Fabinho fouled Raheem Sterling inside the box with referee Michael Oliver pointing to the spot.

Ilkay Gundogan missed the resulting spot kick, firing the ball over the bar.

Gundogan then made up for his missed penalty by breaking the deadlock in the 49th minute.

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Mohamed Salah managed to restore parity after converting the penalty that he won after Ruben Dias fouled him inside the box.

Not even in their wildest dreams would anyone have predicted what was going to happen next as Alisson Becker literally did a Loris Karius!

Gundogan and Sterling cashed in on the Liverpool number 1's two silly errors to put the visitors 3-1 ahead.

Phil Foden, arguably the man of the match for City, put the final nail in the coffin in the 83rd minute as he fired a thunderous shot past Becker.

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The defeat now puts Liverpool on a three game losing sequence at home, the first time in the club’s long history after they had managed 68 games without a defeat in the same stadium.

Pep Guardiola pulled off a tactical masterclass without his magician in charge, Kevin De Bruyne. The emphatic victory leaves City five points ahead of second-placed Manchester United, having played a game less and 10 points ahead of Liverpool with a match in hand.

City and Guardiola have had some miserable days and nights at Anfield since Jurgen Klopp became Liverpool manager. This was the game, the performance and the scoreline that made this almost the perfect day.

Guardiola has no Anfield doubts over 'incredible, exceptional' Sterling

At the heart of City’s incredible performance was the brilliant Foden, who was head and shoulders above everyone else on the pitch, oozing with confidence and flourishing even more when Guardiola cleverly removed Riyad Mahrez and placed the 20-year-old England international on the right flank.

He made two goals and scored a sensational fourth as City put down a marker, establishing themselves as the team to beat in the title race. It was also a 14th straight win, which equals the all-time winning run by an English top-flight team, shared with Preston in 1892 and Arsenal in 1987.

City have been imperious in defence and threatening in attack in recent times, but this ruthless dismissal of an opponent that has haunted them at Anfield in the recent past is their most powerful statement of intent yet.